It is all in the details. Scholars read The Life of Miné Okubo and pay special attention to details that reveal Okubo's character. Completing their Understanding Miné: Character Traits graphic organizers and recalling the descriptions...

Learners use a Analyzing Mediums handout to detail the advantages and disadvantages of communicating with mediums such as artwork, photographs, and political cartoons in the Japanese-American Internment during World War II primary...

Using complete sentences and the five W's as guidance, learners will respond to three short-answer questions about WWII. They'll discuss Mussolini's role, the ideologies of nationalism and anti-Semitism that led to the Holocaust, and the...

How have things changed economically since the end of WWII? Thoughtful writers will consider three questions and compose responses for each. They'll discuss Cold War science and technology, US involvement in the economic recovery of...

World War II led to the collapse of the colonial empires that Europe had created before the turn of the century. Budding historians examine Imperialism's historiography. They compose three responses that discuss the roles of Indian caste...

Explore modern economic issues occurring after WWII. The class responds to three short-answer questions on postcolonialism, changes in the global economy after 1945, and the ties that bind many nations to the colonial powers that...

Without the benefit of history, Western Europe in the 1940's had no idea what was about to befall them. Class members use primary sources, including political cartoons, videos, and internal documents, to analyze how much of a threat...

Warsaw, Poland, suffered much of the blunt of World War II—but according to Polish letters from the early days of Nazi occupation, other parts of the country were much worse off. High schoolers use the letters and contemporaneous...

Germany seemed to be unstoppable in the early years of World War II, but the tireless and sacrificial work of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) helped to steer the war in another direction. After exploring primary source documents,...

Had Britain not emerged as the victors of the 1940 Battle of Britain, World War II would have ended much differently—and the world as we know it would be catastrophically altered. Learn more about this pivotal moment that kept the Nazis...

World War II left the British desperate for help in any form—including in the form of a magician! High schooler conduct research on Jasper Maskelyne, a stage magician who used his talents to deceive the Germans on the war front, before...

D-Day, also known as the Normandy Invasion, was a true turning point for the Allied forces and one of the most successful campaigns of World War II. After researching the factors that contributed to the campaign's success, high schoolers...

Was bombing German cities an effective means to an end, or was it a war crime? Could it be both? Young historians ponder these questions with an activity that prompts them to use primary sources to summarize the debate surrounding RAF...

You are Winston Churchill, and on May 9th, 1945, you receive millions of grateful cards and telegrams. How do you respond? High schoolers put themselves in the Prime Minister's chair with an activity that prompts them to respond to a...

Because World War II encompassed most of the globe in one way or another, many pivotal battles and events are not as visible in the history books, leaving veterans of these conflicts feeling overlooked by more famous skirmishes. High...

The fall of Singapore in World War II was shocking news for the Allied forces—but why? High schoolers explore primary source documents and videos to determine why February 15, 1942 was a wake-up call to the British Empire and its allies...

Of the images that have permeated history to define American courage, perseverance, and patriotism, the 1945 photograph of United States Marines raising the flag at Iwo Jima is one of the most well known. After researching the pivotal...

The most dangerous line of attack during World War II wasn't the German planes soaring above Britain, but the U-Boats cutting off their supplies of food and equipment. Learners research the Battle of the Atlantic, the German campaign to...

Though December 7th, 1941 was a day "which would live in infamy," World War II had provided many infamous days, events, battles, and atrocities in the years before. So why were American forces so surprised when Japan attacked Pearl...

Though the scientists who developed the atom bomb did not believe it should be used to end World War II, American President Harry S. Truman and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill were of like mind in their decision to drop the bomb...

Readers complete a word web-based on the word dignity. They use their Understanding Invisibility note catcher to discuss how dignity relates to the theme of invisibility. After group discussion comparing invisibility and loss of dignity,...

Scholars discuss the phrase identity is erased and how it relates to the theme of invisibility. They use their Understanding Invisibility note catcher to identify how invisibility may occur within a person. They then work on a Gathering...

Check those sources carefully. Scholars learn to analyze and critique primary sources with the work they completed in the previous activity. Learners compare and contrast sources that agree and disagree about Japanese-American internment...

Scholars learn about primary sources with a Primary Sources: Japanese-American Internment during World War II packet. Pupils work with a partner to read challenging sources in the packet while making notes in the margins. They then...